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ISCR Case 18-01997 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 18-01997

A decided public DOHA case, shown for research — not advice or a prediction.

Case Profile
Decision Date11/8/2019
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Noreen A. Lynch
Government Counsel: Kelly M. Folks
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 47-year-old employee of a federal contractor who had held a security clearance since 2005. He faced allegations under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) and Guideline E (Personal Conduct) due to approximately $175,000 in delinquent debts and failure to disclose these debts on his security clearance application. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) outlined multiple charged-off accounts and a history of financial distress, including unemployment and significant medical expenses incurred while caring for family members.
During the proceedings, the applicant admitted to some financial issues but disputed specific debts, claiming he was a victim of fraud regarding one account. He acknowledged that he had not disclosed certain debts on his application, asserting he was unaware of them at the time. The applicant provided some evidence of debt resolution efforts and letters of reference attesting to his character, but he failed to submit sufficient documentation to demonstrate effective management of his financial obligations.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that the evidence presented established disqualifying conditions under the financial considerations guideline. The judge found that the applicant's financial irresponsibility raised concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness, which were critical for access to classified information. The judge determined that the applicant did not sufficiently mitigate the security concerns, leading to the denial of his security clearance.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · For Applicant
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 18-01997

deniedNov 8, 2019· Hon. Noreen A. Lynch· hearing

Summary

A 47-year-old federal contractor's security clearance application was denied based on Guideline F (Financial Considerations), despite the applicant successfully mitigating concerns under Guideline E (Personal Conduct). The applicant faced allegations of approximately $175,000 in delinquent debts and falsifying his 2016 security clearance application regarding his financial record.

The judge found the applicant credible concerning the personal conduct allegation, ruling in his favor on the claim of falsifying material facts. However, the application was denied due to the applicant's significant unresolved debts, which demonstrated an inability to satisfy his financial obligations.

The applicant failed to provide sufficient documentation of financial responsibility or evidence of payment arrangements for the approximately $175,000 in delinquent debts. The judge determined that the financial issues were not sufficiently mitigated by circumstances beyond the applicant's control, as he did not act responsibly to address his debts.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant had approximately $175,000 in delinquent debts, demonstrating an inability to satisfy debts (AG ¶ 19(a)).
The applicant failed to provide sufficient documentation of financial responsibility or evidence of payment arrangements for his debts.
The applicant's financial issues were not sufficiently mitigated by circumstances beyond his control, as he did not act responsibly to address his debts.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(a)appliedInability to Satisfy Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)appliedA History of Not Meeting Financial Obligations

Key Rule Quoted

“An applicant has the ultimate burden of demonstrating that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant or continue his security clearance.”
— ISCR Case No. 01-20700 at 3 (App. Bd. Dec. 19, 2002)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedAug 15, 2018
Answer filed—
Hearing heldAug 29, 2019
Decision dateNov 8, 2019

Cite For

Denial Based on Significant Unresolved Financial Obligations Under Guideline F
Credibility of Applicant's Testimony Regarding Personal Conduct Under Guideline E
Burden of Proof on Applicant to Demonstrate Financial Responsibility for Security Clearance Eligibility

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline E (Personal Conduct) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant did not deliberately falsify material facts on his 2016 Security Clearance Application (SCA) regarding his financial record. The applicant's assertion that he was unaware of his financial issues was deemed credible, leading to a favorable finding for the applicant on this allegation.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
2.a	Falsified material facts on his 2016 SCA when answering Section 26: Financial Record.	For Applicant	Falsification Security FormNOT DELIBERATE	Financial	Denied	—	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline E). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline F · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on financial considerations, citing delinquent debts totaling approximately $175,000. The applicant's financial issues were attributed to various personal circumstances, but the judge determined that these did not sufficiently mitigate the security concerns raised.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Delinquent debts totaling approximately $175,000. $175,000	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.b–1.h	7 sub-charges — specific text not stated in this decision (against the applicant).	Against Applicant			—	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline F). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.